When you look for the positive qualities of your challenging customer, you increase your ability to connect with that customer and enjoy your time together.  How you think about your customers influences how you respond to them.  When you begin noticing the positive qualities, your clients will start responding to your differently, because how you act is determined by how you think.

- Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest, Who's Your Gladys?

 Some of you may recall when we introduced this concept nearly a year ago, and we are re-introducing it due to some great love for it and since we want you all to have the freebie that we are including. 

So you ask: what does KISSing have to do with customer service? A LOT!  For those of you who don't know, K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple, stupid."  Implementing good, basic customer service practices is not hard (in fact, it's rather simple!), and for many people, it comes naturally once they are given a gentle nudge to embrace these skills.  What simple (K.I.S.S.) customer service standards and practices should we all embrace, no matter what business we are in?  Just nail these 4 skills...

Faulty assumption #1 – The customer is always right.  Using such polar thinking – right versus wrong – precludes getting at the real issue of how we can build mutually useful relationships…Rightness and wrongness is less important than finding solutions.

- Dr. Paul R. Timm, Seven Power Strategies for Building Customer Loyalty

If your best solution is not suitable for the customer, try to find something that will work.  If you are at a loss to know how to resolve a problem, ask the customer what she would do to solve the problem if this were her business.  Asking that question will help the customer walk in your shoes.  Work together to come up with a realistic solution that is mutually acceptable.

- Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

Customers come in all shapes and sizes, and we can probably all agree that the most difficult is the angry customer. This is someone who has been wronged (in his/her opinion) and is upset and emotional. We get it- mistakes happen, and you will have upset customers. Did you know that ~80% of dissatisfied customers tell 10 people and ~20% of dissatisfied customers tell 20 people? You don't want this negative publicity- NO WAY!  So as soon as it is apparent that your customer is upset or that there is a problem, it is absolutely necessary to deal with the situation ASAP.  Unlike the customer, you are not angry, you are in control, and your only problem at the moment is helping him/her with his/her problem so that the stories these customers tell are positive and ones that showcase proper service recovery instead of the other way around.

After you apologize, tell the customer what happened.  Stick to the facts.  Keep emotion out of it.  Be truthful, even when your company made a mistake.  The customer may not like the answer, but your honesty will be appreciated.  In the end, a customer is going to respect an employee who is frank and honest over one who evades, covers up, or lies.

- Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101